My first personal encounter with patriot act

[apc3161]

Alright so I recently went to open up a CD (certificate of deposit) with e*Trade.

What a nightmare.

First they wanted my social security number, my drivers license number, and my address (this last demand I can understand). But my mailing address and the "registered" address on my drivers license didn't match up (because I currently live in North Carolina) so the accounts couldn't be created. I called up and asked them what the deal was, after all I just gave them a few thousand dollars and I didn't have access to these accounts.When I called up it was the same crap. They were asking me for all of this information regarding who I am, date of birth, SS#, etc. I got pissed after awhile and said "Why is this even important? What does my drivers license number have to do with my opening of a bank account? It's really simple...I give you money, I give you my name and birthday, and you give me a bank account number, its not difficult."

They responded by saying that because of the Patriot Act they are required to gather all of this information and verify that I am who I say I am. Of course my data doesn't match up because my licensed address and mailing address to not match up. They asked me to send in copies of my passport, birth certificate, social security, and drivers license. Of course I out right refused, and then they transfered me to this third party "security detail" where they started asking me all these f'ing weird ass questions so that I could identify myself. They started asking me, " What hospital I was born in? " "What month someone named Christie (my sister) was born in?" all of these insane questions. I just want to point out that not only was I pissed that they were asking me these questions and that I had to answer, but also because the GOVERNMENT had this information on file and knew the answers to them. What the hell kind of "free society" is this.

Eventually I think it all got sorted out but right now I'm just pissed. I think I'm going to go donate more to RP, because this was just unbelievable.

This was my first personal encounter with the Patriot Act and I did not enjoy it one bit.

You know when I was little I would always hear about Swiss banking, they would always associate it with crime on TV. I think that might just all be propaganda.

This is the description of Swiss banking of Wikipedia

Swiss bank secrecy protects private banking information; the protections afforded under Swiss law are similar to confidentiality protections between doctors and patients or lawyers and their clients. The Swiss government views the right to privacy as a fundamental principle that should be protected by all democratic countries. While secrecy is protected, in practice all bank accounts are linked to an identified individual, and a prosecutor or judge may issue a "lifting order" in order to grant law enforcement access to information relevant to a criminal investigation.

I have so much respect for Switzerland right now it is not even funny. Just like I should have privacy in the comfort of my own home, I should have comfort in knowing that my finance details are private as well.

[mom2idtwinsand1]

You should have just bought some gold dude!

[hillertexas]

wow...
Good for you for refusing and questioning.

[jumpyg1258]

Heck I do not even know the name of the hospital I was born in, I would probably be carted off to jail if they started asking me those sorts of questions.

[devil21]

Just FYI, all that info that they are asking you they get from Lexis/Nexis, the biggest database of private, personal information in the country. Take a few minutes to get your report through their website and be astonished at the info they have gathered about you.

http://www.lexisnexis.com/terms/privacy/data/obtain.asp

[Wendi]

Just think - by 2014 all of that data will be encoded in your drivers' license. If it's not already :mad:

[apc3161]

Just FYI, all that info that they are asking you they get from Lexis/Nexis, the biggest database of private, personal information in the country. Take a few minutes to get your report through their website and be astonished at the info they have gathered about you.

http://www.lexisnexis.com/terms/privacy/data/obtain.asp

Who the hell are these guys? I just went through their FAQ and saw this


LexisNexis takes cautionary steps to protect your privacy and to prevent others from obtaining a copy of your information.

What do they mean "protect my privacy". I want to protect my privacy from them. I don't remember giving them permission to keep information about my entire life on file. Who are these guys? This is absolute b.s.

[McDermit]

Yeah, try buying a house without having state issued photo ID. lolz.

My ex owns herself a nice big media company. Right? Right. So she had ~1.5mil in a Bank of America NEA Money Market account. She wanted something liquid, with a decent interest rate. This was a promo acct that gave her 6.1%. Last December, she found a house she loved and wrote a personal check to the realtor for the $25,000 down payment. ($250k house.) K, no problem. Her bid is accepted and all moves forward as planned.

Closing day in Feb rolls around. She goes to the bank for a cashier's check. They ask for her ID. Oops. She doesn't drink, doesn't drive, never had a need for a state issued photo ID. She voted with a voter reg card and signature, she pays her bills online, does her banking online, opened the bank account by providing "0000000000" when they asked for her driver's license number. She'd had over $2 mil wired to her BOA checking acct over the past year, and had several accts linked to that one. Never any problems.

Assuming they'd need ID, she took her SS card, voter reg card, birth certificate, 2 utility bills, a couple credit cards, and her tax docs to prove her identity. No go. They NEEDED a state issued ID. So go to the DMV, provide them with the exact same papers that she'd given the bank. Done. Go back to the bank, "Oh we have to check with the DMV. This is brand new, it could be counterfeit. And we'll also need to verify your other documents." JIQDH@KLJQ::Q:::ASDFJDHJKXASEFXXSX!!!!

How ridiculous can they be? It was insane. She couldn't access her own money for 2 weeks because of the freakin' PATRIOT Act.

And then any time she wants to take out decent amounts of cash, forget it! She once took out 4-6 grand like 4 times in one month, and they triggered an IRS investigation. If you take out 10+ grand in a clip, there's paperwork to be filled out. Why can't you just walk in, get your money, and walk out? You can't access your own damn money.

[McDermit]

And Swiss banking is no longer safe. The Swiss WILL hand your info over to the US govt.

Look into Seychilles. That's my personal fave.

[heath.whiteaker]

I have been looking into an offshore account... Swiss accounts I have found offer the best.... the Cayman Islands are good too

[ShowMeLiberty]

Is it any wonder identity theft is rampant? It isn't becase we are so careless with our info, it's because the gov't has too much of it - and they are careless with it.

[Ack]

I recently tried to buy a new car with all cash. I brought a cashiers check for the full amount and was ready to go. They couldn't sell me the car without getting my SSN to run some kind of Patriot Act check to make sure I wasn't a terrorist and to let the government know that I just spent that amount of cash. Total BS.

[apc3161]

Is it any wonder identity theft is rampant? It isn't becase we are so careless with our info, it's because the gov't has too much of it - and they are careless with it.

That reminds me of this incident recently in the UK

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1123/p04s01-woeu.html

Title: Missing: Personal data on half the British population

London - British trust in the way government stores and secures vital personal information was sorely tested Wednesday after it emerged that sensitive data on about 25 million Britons (almost half the population) was lost in the mail in an unprecedented security blunder....

[apc3161]

I recently tried to buy a new car with all cash. I brought a cashiers check for the full amount and was ready to go. They couldn't sell me the car without getting my SSN to run some kind of Patriot Act check to make sure I wasn't a terrorist and to let the government know that I just spent that amount of cash. Total BS.

I'm glad people agree with me on this. It's total fucking bullshit in every single way.

If they would have just enforced the ALREADY EXISTING LAWS, 9-11 would not have happened. Why the hell do we have to suffer as a result of the incompetence of government, its completely counter to personal liberty.

[McDermit]

I recently tried to buy a new car with all cash. I brought a cashiers check for the full amount and was ready to go. They couldn't sell me the car without getting my SSN to run some kind of Patriot Act check to make sure I wasn't a terrorist and to let the government know that I just spent that amount of cash. Total BS.

My ex did this. She wanted a Land Rover. (She doesn't drive - put it in her Mom's name.) To get the best deal, obviously, you want to pay cash. None of the new dealerships would accept hard cash without 20 pages of paperwork.

We ended up finding one out of state - slightly used. Saved over $10k off the blue book price, and paid cash to a private seller without any papers being filed aside from the tags and title transfer.

[ArchPaul]

I had an account with Bank of America a couple years ago. They had cut me a check for $15k for which I went to deposit in my account. First they told me only $100 would be immediately available because they had to make sure it would clear!!!! And it would take up to a week for the rest!!! I said "IT'S YOUR CHECK!!!!" They had no answer.. of course.

I've also had a lending agency try to question MY money. I had made $13k in stock trades. They wanted the paper work for it. I asked them why? They said "we want to make sure your not a drug dealer or anything." I was instantly pissed off! I told them you know what, I gave you my relevant financial data, and the money was claimed on my taxes. So look at my paper work and get a clue." Then I hung up. They called back apologizing.

Its always struck me odd when the news bastardizes a person that has been arrested "with cash!" They always make it sound like its bad to be caught with cash. Last time I looked, money was legal, and who's to say how much I carry or when!

[McDermit]

I had an account with Bank of America a couple years ago. They had cut me a check for $15k for which I went to deposit in my account. First they told me only $100 would be immediately available because they had to make sure it would clear!!!! And it would take up to a week for the rest!!! I said "IT'S YOUR CHECK!!!!" They had no answer.. of course.

I've also had a lending agency try to question MY money. I had made $13k in stock trades. They wanted the paper work for it. I asked them why? They said "we want to make sure your not a drug dealer or anything." I was instantly pissed off! I told them you know what, I gave you my relevant financial data, and the money was claimed on my taxes. So look at my paper work and get a clue." Then I hung up. They called back apologizing.

Its always struck me odd when the news bastardizes a person that has been arrested "with cash!" They always make it sound like its bad to be caught with cash. Last time I looked, money was legal, and who's to say how much I carry or when!

They once put a hold on my ex's $150k wire tansfer too. 3 week hold for "verification and investigations." WTF? She had 250k in and out of the acct every month for a year, and then they randomly hold a transaction. Dumb.


And I hate that too. It's one thing when drugs are found in the car... but even when someone is mugged or loses money, everyone is like "OMG! Why'd she have that much money IN CASH??"

I used to keep bricks upon bricks of 1's and 2's in my home. I was a "collector" of sorts, and an avid "Georger" (wheresgeorge.com user) and my little brother's friend once stole $10k from me. The police wouldn't do shit because they insisted it was dirty money.

My ex was the same way. Big into Georging. She had a guy come in to do electrical work on her house... and forgot she had a stack of about 300 ones on the table next to her stampers, and there as a box filled with new ones sitting on the floor. A few days later, she hears rumors that she's dealing drugs out of her house. lol. The moron electrician went and told people about the "stack of bills" and assumptions were made then twisted and spread. FUN!

[Dieseler]

We will soon be forced to launder perfectly legal money and make purchases on the newly created black market to avoid persecution by our own Fe(de)ral Government.